Phosphorus pentachloride
- Formula: PCl5
- Hill system formula: Cl5P1
- CAS registry number: [10026-13-8]
- Formula weight: 208.237
- Class: chloride
- Colour: off-white
- Appearance: crystalline solid
- Melting point: 167°C
- Boiling point: 160°C
- Density: 2100 kg m-3
The following are some synonyms of phosphorus pentachloride:
- phosphorus pentachloride
- phosphorus(V) chloride
- phosphoric chloride
- phosphorus chloride
The oxidation number of phosphorus in phosphorus pentachloride is 5.
Synthesis
PCl3 + Cl2 → PCl5
Careful chlorination of phosphorus(III) trichloride results in phosphorus(V) pentachloride. The tyield is about 85%. Phosphorus(V) pentachloride is a white solid whose density is about 1600 kg m-3 and whose melting point is about 148°C under pressure. It sublimes at about 160°C.
Solid state structure
- Geometry of phosphorus: mixed 4-, 6-coordinate: tetrahedral and octahedral
- Prototypical structure:
Element analysis
The table shows element percentages for PCl5 (phosphorus pentachloride).
| Element | % |
|---|---|
| Cl | 85.13 |
| P | 14.87 |
Isotope pattern for PCl5
The chart below shows the calculated isotope pattern for the formula PCl5 with the most intense ion set to 100%.
References
The data on these compounds pages are assembled and adapted from the primary literature and several other sources including the following.
- R.T. Sanderson in Chemical Periodicity, Reinhold, New York, USA, 1960.
- N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.
- F.A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, C.A. Murillo, and M. Bochmann, in Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
- A.F. Trotman-Dickenson, (ed.) in Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 1973.
- R.W.G. Wyckoff, in Crystal Structures, volume 1, Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 1963.
- A.R.West in Basic solid state chemistry Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
- A.F. Wells in Structural inorganic chemistry, 4th edition, Oxford, UK, 1975.
- J.D.H. Donnay, (ed.) in Crystal data determinative tables, ACA monograph number 5, American Crystallographic Association, USA, 1963.
- D.R. Lide, (ed.) in Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 77th edition, 1996.
- J.W. Mellor in A comprehensive treatise on inorganic and theoretical chemistry, volumes 1-16, Longmans, London, UK, 1922-1937.
- J.E. Macintyre (ed.) in Dictionary of inorganic compounds, volumes 1-3, Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 1992.